T52-4 was the final head to head blend that was competing internally with T52-3 to become the T52 final blend.

T52-4 was exceptional, in fact JD and I both liked it a slight bit better, but we were concerned that it tended to overpower some of the nuances in the liga and that we were sacrificing flavors for strength, so we ultimately decided that the T52-3 would be the final T52 blend.

JD for his own smoking pleasure kept having T52-4s made, but we banded them as JD4 so as to not cause confusion in the factory or with those he shared them with.

After he started handing them out, he decided that he didn't like putting his personal name on the product, so we started ringing them with MF-4 - it stood for what you think it does.

In the factory we kept tinkering with the T52-4/JD4/MF-4 blend to try to improve it (in our opinion) - goal was to keep the octane, but restore the depth of flavors... so we made a variety of minor liga tweaks and vitola changes to try and get it "perfect".

The result was the MF-13 - a robusto format. I think the MF-13 is better, not sure where JD stands on this - truth is the difference is so very minor between the two cigars I doubt most folks could even tell there was any difference unless they smoked them side by side... and maybe not even then, but we can tell... or so we tell ourselves. ;>

We started sharing both MF-4s and MF-13s at events and out of our pockets and they started to get some buzz online.

JD came to me one day with a My Father cigar and pointed out that Pepin's rings have an MF in the center of them. How both of us missed this is kinda crazy since we both smoke a lot of their cigars, but we did. So we decided to change the name to UF out of respect - we take pride in not knowingly copying others, so we rebanded all the MFs as UFs on our own accord.

UF stands for "Unico Fuerte."

So MF-4 = UF-4 and MF-13 = UF-13.

Netiher blend is really in testing per se, both are finalized blends. It just that neither is being produced for retail at this point.

We would like to release the cigar this year, but can't commit to doing so until we are confident we can get T52, Dirty Rats and L40s delivered on a regular basis to our customers as the UF-13 shares the same Stalk Cut Habano capa.

Now you know more than 99% of DE does about the lineage of UF-13... ;>

BR,

Steve Saka
Prez, Drew Estate

05-15-2012, 06:03 PM

exprime8

Re: Okay DE / Liga Privada cheerleaders show us your stash !

Oh wow a lot of info, thanks! So maybe next year, if they do release em! I still cant even find Dirty Rats, L-40s and Flying Pigs!!!

PS: Yes, it is weird to have a PS at the top of a post, but I just previewed my post and realized it is longwinded and somewhat self serving - so I decided to add this PS as a WARNING: Do not read it unless you can stomach a manufacturer posting pridefully about their product and for those that do endure my ramblings please know they are genuinely heart felt and good intentioned. Consider yourself warned...

Or you could just read it and hate on me, I am a very very very big boy and can take it... ;>

===

I am at the factory for the next ten days or so and just had a moment of peace to finally take a peek online at forums - been forever it seems...

Anyways, those are some amazing stashes and I agree they look super yummy - you guys take some great pics, I would argue many are better than the professional pics you see in many of the current cigar ads!

A few quick replies to some of the questions I saw while reading he thread:

1. Regretfully I can not post an image of my personal stash. Retailers are already pissed at us for not delivering enough LPs and my posting of an image of my stash would result in a f'ing firing squad! <lol> In 2006 I made it very clear to everyone at DE and others that LPs would be a nearly impossible cigar to make to meet demand if it ever became popular with smokers and that I was always going to ensure that as long as I was with DE I would reserve enough for me to smoke, it truly is my personal cigar. I smoke five or more every single day. So having LP's in stock for my own consumption is as essential as air and water so my personal stash is an absolute necessity as far as I am concerned.

2. Demand greatly outstrips out ability to produce these cigars at the quality and consistency we expect by easily 10 to 1 even after 5 years and the demand seems to be increasing, however we have not, nor will we "tweak" the blend or rush the tobacco to make them more available. We have been doing everything possible to harvest more leaf and we have increased production, just no where near the demand. And we have taken a very hard line stance we will not sell any LPs that we do not feel are worthy of being boxed, hence look at the huge T52 shortage of the last year. The extremely oily stalk-cut Habano capa from the 2009 harvest has required an extra year of fermentation and it appears the 2010 crop will require the same - hence the drought of T52s, Dirty Rats and the L40s, plus the indefinite back-burnering of the Ratzilla blend. We just simply are not going to screw up what we think is exceptional cigar for some short term sales even if that is millions of dollars. Some would argue we are geniuses other would call us incredibly stupid... I am still not sure which myself.

3. All of the LPs are regular production with the exception of 2 - the original No. 9 Flying Pig and the following year's T52 Flying Pig releases. All the No. 9, T52s, Dirty Rats, L40s and Feral Flying Pigs are intended to be continued production items as tobacco is ready to do so.

4. Wrapper shades DO vary. Within the No. 9 line the color of the CT Broadleaf No. 1 can vary from Maduro to Oscuro and in T52 the shades range from Colorado Maduro to Maduro. The reason for this is we DO NOT ferment the wrappers for color - we ferment them for burn, flavor and aroma - color is NOT a primary concern. If we were to make it so, it would mean we would have to over-ferment the leaf in order to achieve a perfect consistent color and that would end up resulting in our sacrificing some of the flavor. LPs are meant to be smoked with your mouth and nose, not your eyes - yes, we love the fact that they are pretty, but ultimately the taste, aroma and burn determines when we deem a wrapper bulk ready to be used on the production floor. Same holds true for the fillers and even the binder leaf. Fwiw, it is a continually ongoing discussion and sampling of tobaccos between JD, Nicholas, Jessenia, Rubio, Raymond, Luis, Joel, Chema, Marlin and myself that determines when tobacco is ready - it is truly a team effort of monumental proportions - everyone must agree before we certify tobacco as "ready to go". Today alone, we smoked dozens of samples of T52 wrapper from one of the 2009 pilones.

5. To my knowledge, we have no retailers in Canada. I think we have only one International LP account and it is in the Netherlands and he is a personal longtime friend of the company. Regretfully we have not yet been able to open more retailers, even though there are many we truly wish we could and fully intend to when supply allows.

6. Our intent is to not limit the brand, we as a company do not strive to make limited releases. You make far more money being able to consistently deliver to retailers and cigar smokers all the cigars they want to consume than playing the Limited game - imo most of this Limited Release nonsense is a gimmick. That being said and to repeat myself, even with that in mind we are not going to destroy what we regard as an exceptional product - we are simply going to do our best to make as many as possible the way they should be. I greatly admire the Padron's for how they have treated their 1964 and 1926 lines and it took them well over a decade plus of dedication to be able to supply as many as they do today, which still isn't enough, but they never cashed in at the expense of the quality of their product. And for that cigar smokers rightfully hold their product in high esteem and reward them with their hard earned dollars for their hard work of doing the right thing. IMO, this is the way to do it and everyone at DE agrees from top to bottom. And before anyone gets their panties in a twist, I am not saying we are Padron, I am saying they are cigar makers whom I greatly admire and I am smart enough to know they got it right in always putting quality first and foremost. Hopefully someday we will open many more accounts and be able to ship existing LP Appointed Merchants far more cigars.

And finally, even though this wasn't one of the questions I want to personally say THANKS. All of our past, current and future success is solely due to our fellow herfers enjoying our cigars and their willingness to buy them. We know everyone works hard for their money and we strive to deliver the best cigars possible regardless of whether you are an ACID or Liga Privada smoker or anywhere in between. We are humbled by the accolades we receive and do our best to listen and address the complaints of our customers, we are not perfect and we know this, yet please know we continue to always strive to be better.